''Jennifer Falls'' is an American sitcom created by

Matthew Carlson Matthew Carlson (birth name Matt James Carlson; born February 10, 1951) is an American television producer and writer. He is best known for his work on the series ''Malcolm in the Middle'' and ''The Wonder Years''. He was nominated for two Pri ...

, and starring

Jaime Pressly Jaime Elizabeth Pressly (born July 30, 1977) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Best known for her role as Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom '' My Name Is Earl'', she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in ...

in the title role. The series premiered on

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

on June 4, 2014, and is the first

single-camera The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production. The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema ...

comedy series for the network. It was cancelled on October 3, 2014, after ten episodes.

Plot

The series follows Jennifer Doyle (

), a single mother who, after losing her high salary job, has to move back in with her mother, Maggie (

Jessica Walter Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 – March 24, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, stage and television productions. In film, she was best known for her role as a psychotic and obsessed fan of a local disc jockey in t ...

). From there, Jennifer must reassess her life and figure out how to rebuild.

Cast

Main

as Jennifer Doyle *

as Maggie Doyle, Jennifer's mother *

Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), '' Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog ...

as Dina Simac, Jennifer's childhood friend *

Ethan Suplee Ethan Suplee (; born May 25, 1976) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' American History X'', '' Remember the Titans'', ''John Q'', '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', ''Without a Paddle'', and sever ...

as Wayne Doyle, Jennifer's brother *

Nora Kirkpatrick Nora Kirkpatrick (born December 6, 1984) is an American director, writer and musician. Early life Kirkpatrick grew up in rural Iowa. She graduated from La Quinta High School. She graduated with a BA in theater from UCLA School of Theater, Film a ...

as Stephanie Doyle, Jennifer's sister-in-law *

Dylan Gelula Dylan Nicole Gelula (born May 7, 1994) is an American actress who is best known for her role of Xanthippe on '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', as well as her work in independent film. In 2016, Gelula made her film debut as the lead actress with ...

as Gretchen Doyle, Jennifer's daughter

Recurring

Chris D'Elia Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom '' Whitney'', Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'', Kenny on the ...

as Adam, Jennifer's younger ex-boyfriend and Gretchen's father

Episodes

Production and development

On August 5, 2013,

placed a

multi-camera The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneou ...

pilot order on ''Jennifer Falls'', with

identified for the lead role. The pilot was written by

. Larry W. Jones, Keith Cox, Mindy Schultheis and Michael Hanel serve as executive producers, alongside Acme Productions. Casting announcements on the remaining series regular roles began in September 2013, with

first cast in the role of Dina, Jennifer's childhood best friend, who is hesitant to restart the friendship when Jennifer returns to town. Dylan Gelula was the next actor cast in the series regular role of Gretchen, Jennifer's energetic and complicated daughter.

then joined the series as Maggie, Jennifer's warm and welcoming yet slightly narcissistic mother. Shortly after,

and

Joel David Moore Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...

were cast in the series, with Kirkpatrick cast in the role of Stephanie, Jennifer's sister-in-law and new boss. Moore was tapped play the role of Wayne, Jennifer's brother who owns the bar where she begins to work. On January 27, 2014, TV Land placed a series order on ''Jennifer Falls'', set to premiere in 2014. The series was originally conceived as a multi-camera before being converted into

. A month after the series order,

replaced Joel David Moore in the role of Wayne, reuniting Pressly and Suplee who had previously co-starred together in ''

My Name is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Ja ...

''. ''Jennifer Falls'' is the second TV Land original series in which Jessica Walter has appeared, following the sitcom ''

Retired at 35 ''Retired at 35'' is an American sitcom on TV Land starring George Segal, Jessica Walter, Johnathan McClain, Josh McDermitt, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Ryan Michelle Bathe. It is the network's second original scripted series after ''Hot in Cleve ...

'' which was cancelled in 2012 after two seasons.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series has an aggregate score of 56% based on 5 positive and 4 negative critic reviews.

References

External links

* * {{TV Land original sitcoms 2014 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings 2010s American single-camera sitcoms English-language television shows TV Land original programming Television series by Endemol